As Tim Hudson prepared to talk to reporters, Madison Bumgarner opened a closet between their lockers and took out a scooter. Yes, he’s joined the Giants Scooter Club, and naturally, it has a camouflage design. That caught the eye of Hudson, himself a Southerner.

“Hey,” Hudson said, smiling. “Does that thing have a 4-wheel drive?”

It didn’t take long for Hudson to fit into the clubhouse. As for the rotation? Well, through five starts he’s fitting like yet another ace. Hudson is 3-1 with a 2.19 ERA. He has 25 strikeouts and just two walks in 37 innings and he’s third in the league in WHIP (an absurd 0.78). The most important fact for a guy coming off ankle surgery: He’s gotten through seven innings in each of his five starts. It’s the first time he’s started a season like that since 2007, and he’s the first Giants to do it in April since Livan Hernandez in 2002.

“As a starter, we intend to go out there and pitch deep,” he said. “We take some pressure off the bullpen and we can save some bullets in the pen as much as we can.”

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Madison Bumgarner and Matt Cain are, barring injuries, locks to flirt with 200 innings. If the Giants get anything similar from Hudson, the relievers will be much fresher down the stretch and, if all goes according to plan, in October. The Giants thought they might be getting a pretty good right-hander when they signed Hudson, but if you put a little truth serum to Brian Sabean, Bruce Bochy or the training staff, they’ll admit that there’s no way they could have seen 37 innings from Hudson in his first five starts. Yet here he is, cruising through one start after another, getting grounders to first and called strike threes.

He was setting records, too, until tonight. A walk of Carlos Santana ended a club-record 30-inning streak without a walk to start the season. Santana was the 116th batter to face Hudson.

“Y’all are the ones who liked to talk about that walk thing,” Hudson said, looking at reporters. “Obviously, it’s something that was not going to continue all year. It was fun to start the year and not walk anybody, but that’s not the type of pitcher I am.”

No, he’s the guy who won’t give in, who will look for the edge of the zone but live for the next battle if he has to. He’s the guy who will go into that next at-bat looking for a grounder, a quick out. So far, he’s getting them by the (camo) truckload.

“I like him on our team,” Michael Morse said, smiling. “So we don’t have to face him.”

— So, the Giants really wanted Jose Abreu, the Cuban first baseman, but couldn’t keep up with the bid the Chicago White Sox threw out there. Abreu has nine homers after a walk-off grand slam tonight and generally looks like a star. The Giants instead went out and got Morse and left Brandon Belt at first. That’s worked out pretty well so far.

Morse has more homers in 70 at-bats than Giants left fielders had in 599 at-bats a year ago. Tonight’s was the rare right-field shot from a right-handed hitter.

“For a guy to hit a ball where he hit it, a man has to do that,” Bochy said, smiling. “I guess that’s why he got nicknamed The Beast. There’s not a ballpark that can hold him, including this one.”

Well, Morse disputes one part of that. He thought he hit that first ball pretty well too, but it got knocked down before the track in right. Bochy said before the game that Morse would hit fifth for a while, and the new Giant likes to hear that, but not because he was angling for a middle-of-the-order spot. He said he’s really enjoying hitting behind Buster Posey.

“Our approaches are kind of similar,” Morse said. “Pitchers sometimes tend to pitch him the same way as they pitch me.”

Only one of the two is hitting the pitches right now. Posey is down to .219 after a 0 for 3, but Morse isn’t worried.

“I would never know that, with just the way he goes about the work he does every day,” Morse said. “He’s having quality at-bats.”

— Brandon Crawford just keeps chugging along against lefties. He’s now 10 for 22 against them after a .199 average a year ago.

— The game story is on Angel Pagan, who looked like his old self tonight. Bochy pulled Pagan early but said the center fielder wasn’t in pain. He just knew that this was a good chance to get him off his banged-up legs for a couple innings. Plus, it’s not a downgrade when you plug Juan Perez and Gregor Blanco into center and left (interesting that Perez gets center, too).

— Amazing quote from Phil Coke of the Detroit Tigers, after he gave up a big homer to Adam Dunn. From the Detroit papers:

Instead of breaking, (the slider) ran right back into Dunn’s happy zone. “That’s what Alex (Avila, the catcher) said. It came back to him. It was like I threw an incidental two-seamer,” Tigers reliever Phil Coke said.

Don’t you mean ‘accidental?’

“No, it was an incident, because he hit that a long way. Somebody almost died,” Coke joked. “There was an incident in the outfield seats.”

— One more thing from Brian Sabean’s KNBR interview the other day (I know he’s on a lot but I rarely have a chance to listen): He said he generally likes to see six starts from pitchers before drawing any “hard conclusions” which would certainly be relevant when it comes to the No. 5 starter.

— Hudson using “The Stroke” by Billy Squier as his walk-up and warm-up music is pretty strong. Also, “Take On Me” is starting to gather a little momentum. Good job, Giants fans.

— I’ve worked 20 of 23, so … I’m off this weekend. Try to keep the couch fires to a minimum. You can find me on Twitter (@AlexPavlovic) if you have any issues.

Oh, and hey, the Giants are alone in first place. After the week they just had, when the sky was falling but hits weren’t. Imagine that.

Thanks, Alex!
I’m impressed by Hudson, and delighted our bats are starting to work again. Morse is proving to be a good add to the offense. Nice to see the small ball working again, too.
Pitching
Defense
Offense
The puzzle pieces are coming together. This TEAM is now looking like the strong contending team I was expecting to see for 2014. Rack up another win tomorrow! 😀

Bats working again? A matter if opinion but I guess going from 0.150 of the past week to 7 for 32 last night or a 218 batting average might be considered by some looking for a glimpse of hope to be the bats are back. That 3 /4 combination last night 0 fer 7. Brandon Belt the night before in Colorado 1 for 5 or 0.200. Not lighting it up by any means

Belt is hitting 0.217 over the past 6 games. That is not coming alive.
Posey after an oh fer last night is hitting 0.083 over his past 12 games
Pablo 0.156 over the past 7 games 0.167 the past 4 games
Crawford 0.143 over the past 8 games 0.167 over past 3 starts

So the only working again is Hunter Pence. Michael Morse has been fairly consistent and Pagan has been very good so far.

HaakAway

How about we say three guys will cool down … Pagan will drop 50 points, Morse and Belt will not get 40 homers each but may keep the BA in the .280s … Crawford is on track … but Buster and Pandy will come up 100 points in BA unless they have injuries we do not know about. Scutaro is totally unknown but has a proven record. I’d say we can only get better.

DrLefty

Before last night’s game, I told my husband that the Giants would be in first place when the evening was over. I had to wait until I got up this morning to see if I was right, but it was worth the wait.

Some fun Dodgers facts:
–they’ve played six extra-inning games in April, their most since 1914
–they are 1-5 in extra-inning games
–8 of their 11 losses have been registered by the bullpen
–According to the MLB.com story, Mattingly felt he had to stay away from Jansen (overused) and Wilson (out of sync).
–Kemp got ejected in the ninth inning of a tie game for arguing a strike 3 call, even though the Dodgers’ bench is short-handed (13 pitchers)
–The Dodgers are 5-8 at home this year.

2holehitting

I believe most will play to their card yes. I would not believe Buster will come back 100 points from his 220 avg. He appears to be a .290-300 hitter outside of his awesome 2012 second half. Pablo should end up around 270-280. Crawford 250-260 and yes Pagan will definitely drop back to around his card or the 280 +/- range

HaakAway

Not sure what that “losses by” the staff might mean (except it is nice to picture that when you are trying to come back on them). The Giants starters have registered 8 of the10 losses … that seems worse. Means bad starts or no run support.

http://directionalforces.net George Magalios

Pefect game for me personally: 5 runs, most of the lineup hitting, starter setting the tone with lights out stuff. Hurray for Hudson, Morse and Pence. Glad to see Hunter hacking the other way. When he is on and Angel is Angel, our lineup is certainly one of the deepest and most efficient in MLB. Can’t wait to see Buster get going! Great game Giants! Let’s get this one today Timmy!

BALDHEADSLIK1

Make sure the EMT’s are in the house during the game.

DrLefty

It means the bullpen has either blown leads or given up go-ahead runs in tie games. But you’re right: The Dodgers’ rotation has been stellar but their bullpen has been a problem. The Giants’ bullpen has been good but the rotation not so great. As you said, though, in the case of starter losses, it can also mean bad run support (look at Bum’s last start and Cain’s last two losses). With bullpen losses, it pretty much just means they pitched badly.

HaakAway

I think Posey will hit over .300 with Pence, Belt and Morse around him as threats instead of him alone. Of course, the pitching is not so sure Hudson will cool and Cain will settle in and Bum will stay steady … Tim and Vogey may not prove consistent although I say another month is needed to tell.

DrLefty

LOL.

BALDHEADSLIK1

Gosh I hope TL doesn’t halt our little 2 game streak.

DrLefty

It was nice that Kuip got to do a home run call on his bobblehead night. Thanks, Morse!

BALDHEADSLIK1

David Lee said he’d be better Sunday against Griffin as far as D is concerned, ok David.

DrLefty

He must have heard the rumors that Coach Jax is going to start Draymond instead of him.

HaakAway

I am big on character and your note on Kemp reminds me … “There is no Joy in Dodgerville” and that is their achilles heal even with lots more talent than the G-men.

Peter Johnson

The Giants will not hit for a high team average, they will live and die with Extra Base Hits,last night a HR and 2 triples lead to 4 of the 5 runs they scored. Pegan and Pence are streaky hitters,with good speed,and Pence has power to all fields,both get alot of EXBH when hot. Belt has turned into a dead pull hitter,that is all or nothing, all of his HR’s have been pulled to Right field, when he hits the ball to Left field it is usually a bloop are a lazy flyball,and he Strikesout way to much. Posey is pretty much doing what he was doing in the 2nd half of 2013,hitting the ball on the ground way to much for a guy with no speed, and all his power is to left Field all 4 of his HR’s were pulled,he used to hit with power to right Field not no more,rarely hits line drives to right just lazy fly balls. Morse is doing just what he did for 3 years in Washington,and the 1st month in Seatle when he was healthy hit with power to all fields,and with close to a .300 avg. Sandavol is trying to hard, hopefully the triple last night gets him to relax more at the plate . Crawford is hitting great against Left handers,but can not buy a hit against Right handers. Hicks is not hitting for high average , but most of his hits are for extra bases,and he is walking alot .

DrLefty

Angel Hernandez was the home plate umpire last night. He’s a bad umpire and the pitch appeared to be outside. But Kemp has trouble with umpires named “Angel” (this one was Campos):

I remember when that happened, I thought “roid rage”–and wow, Kemp looks a lot bigger in that 2012 clip than he does right now. Just saying.

giantc

I agree that Kemp is noticeably smaller.

Matthew

The game story nailed something I immediately honed in on last night: when Pagan gets on base to start the game, good things happen.

Hudson has been amazing. Morse IS a beast. Pence is warming up fast (no more stat-nauseum from folks on him now…just Posey and Pablo. That, too, shall pass). But, to me, Pagan is the key to the offense.

Just some numbers for Posey. In order to hit 320 for the year based on current at bat ratios per game of 3.32 he will need to hit 336 (156/464)to bat .320 for the year.

Can he do that, sure he has before. Is it probable that he does? Not in my view.

To hit 300 he needs to bat 312 for the rest of the year. That is quite doable and 75% probable based on his track record. He is a career 304 hitter even with his MVP year. My stat test is where is he come July. That will be a 1 year track record with a 240 second half last year followed up by ???? first half.

I like Hudson, said he was a major upgrade over Zito. if he plays to his card. I said so the day he was signed. I might think Hudson has a 3.7 or lower ERA this year playing half his games at ATT. He is the model of consistency at only 2 years of a 4+ era. A good bet is he will implode 2 or 3 times this year during the summer heat in some small parks.

Matthew

Well, he got A T &T’ed on Morse’s first at bat!

DrLefty

I think if the Giants are going to stay in contention all season, they’re going to need at least one new starter. I don’t know if that will be a youngster from the minors or someone in a trade, but I just don’t see the same rotation at the end of the year that they have now.

DrLefty

Thankfully, so did Swisher in the first inning.

Foothills Ryan

Yeah, but can you tell me what Billy Squier’s song is all about ?

BALDHEADSLIK1

U might be correct on that assessment

BALDHEADSLIK1

Very very difficult to get entire offense going all at the same time, very difficult.

Foothills Ryan

Huddy threw 215 innings in ’11 and 228.2 in ’10. I guess he’s turning back the clock a few as he’s on pace to finish in that area. Strong walk up choice indeed. AC/DC’s Big Balls would also work very well for The Bulldog.

2holehitting

What is considered high average in the NL? 250? That is the impact of the Pitchers and pinch hitters. If you run some numbers based on 600 at bats

coincidentally the Giants had a 260 average last year.
The league average last year was 251 for the NL.

The problem was the team ERA last year. If they pitch to a 3.8 team ERA, then the Win Loss ratio will shift to 87-90 wins. vs the 10 games under they had last year.

Matthew

2HH, you KNOW it is NOT about batting average..it IS about hitting in key moments. Why use a statistic to create an argument rather than watching the at bats the last two games (two wins) and see what JD was saying?

2holehitting

All things equal it is about hitting and timely hitting will come and go. Look at their first week vs second week of hitting with 2 outs. This will average out over time. You know that.

Foothills Ryan

did you see Carlos Santana’s low .100’s batting average and his .300+ OBP. Sure enough, he was hitless and took a couple of walks.

Then he proceeded to play Samba Pa Ti on his Hamer guitar. Amazing!

Foothills Ryan

you got them all lined up. nice.

HaakAway

That’s a good question: Who is the hardest to replace? Recent history is that Posey is the obvious one (irreplaceable), but Pagan’s loss last year never got fixed and probably sunk the ship. Suspect FO now knows that better and is keeping out an eye among other players out there. I do not follow other teams to have any idea who might fit.

HaakAway

“What is good hitting?” Just a feeling on my part but: Your star has to be over.300 with power; your “hitters” need to be over .275 or over 30 HR’s; … all other starters need to have speed or fielding skills and stay over .250.

Michael Scott

*Morse: Alright, alright. I’m warming up to him. Well, a lot. I’m wearing an oven mitt. Almost as impressive as his tape measure shots is his exuberance. He brings a lot of energy to the team. But he and Captain Underpants are gonna hurt each other- Chest Bumpitis..
*Team: 5th in the Majors in HRs. 2nd in NL ( tie with Pgh. but we’ve played 1 fewer game). Colorado is first so we actually lead the NL in HRs among teams who play in real ballparks ( 22 of 31 of the Rockhead HRs are at home) ..
*Buster says he’s in a slump. Yeah, 2 months (September 2013, April 2014)
*Need good starts from Timmy and Vogelsong. Not getting into how far they go with Vogey but if he’s rocked again he ain’t getting 10-15 more chances. That’s a dream (or nightmare) …
*2hole- Hicks/Belt defense comparison-get real
*Pablo- get hot. Pleeeeeeeeze.
*Bullpen: Unsustainable ERA, but they’re just fine.

totalfan62

It’s sad to think you are probably correct. It means that two pitchers you and I both admire could be replaced. I hope we are able to adjust with players already in our organization.

Michael Scott

I beg you, no more walk up music. I’ll send you money if you stop.

Michael Scott

Good luck. David doesn’t play defense. He plays “sorry if I’m in your way”

totalfan62

Well, it’s still April so it’s way too early for any “at this pace” comparatives. Buster Posey is a .300 hitter. If his BABIP is at or slightly above the league norm, he’ll be top 10 NL batting average. OPS and run production more important anyway. Buster will be fine.

Foothills Ryan

Some more wrap-ups:

Albert Pujols refuses to be outdone by the young Cuban defector – he also pumped his 9th into the seats last night.

K-Rod picked up his 10th save for the Brewers. Matt Garza got the win.

The Buccos drop to 9-15. Shelby Miller appear to have it back for the Cards.

Ubaldo Jimenez drop to 0-4 with 6.5ish ERA.

Strasburg with 11 Ks …

Baseball: mmmmm, delicious.

Foothills Ryan

I’ll send you my address. You sending $ to the Big A also?

totalfan62

Delicious indeed! I love this game!

Michael Scott

Yeah, lots of folks freaked during the drought, but this team will hit. Starting rotation is a much bigger concern.

paul in p.v.

Yummy schadenfreude breakfast, DrL!

Foothills Ryan

Bravos rollin’. J. Upton off to another hot start. Santana a great pickup : 3-0, ERA<2.

Me thinks they will get the nod over the Cards in tomorrow's edition of NL Power Rankings.

Michael Scott

“Before last night’s game, I told my husband that the Giants would be in first place when the evening was over:
Me too. Well, I told Zeke. Ask him…

Matthew

That is true, yet with that list of gents, enough can be hot to lead to success…taking turns works for me.

Twice yesterday he said he was reinstating him. Maybe a glitch in the system.

Foothills Ryan

Probably has to do a rehab assignment at The Splash or MCC…

Foothills Ryan

lots of folks freaking out about the drought. which drought you talkin’ about?

Michael Scott

Blown leads by the pen: 3.

2holehitting

What a change a year makes, the Giants are now second in the national league in walks. With that even though batting average is bottom 4, they are now one of the top run scorers in the league. Rallies and big innings need walks.

Public_Service_forthe_Ignorati

Arias is, currently, 115 runs worse than the average hitter.

2holehitting

How many hitters does an NL team get in the starting lineup 4,5 ,6 ,7 ,8? The Giants were the 4th best team last year in batting average at .261.

Foothills Ryan

walks and homeruns do amazing things

South City Jim

I’d like to sign the average hitter that generates 115 runs.

Foothills Ryan

seems like you’re interpreting this wrong. Morse’s 166 should imply that his run production is 66% above league average. Arias is 115% below average.

Public_Service_forthe_Ignorati

Whoops…..you’re right. League average is defined at around 60 weighted runs created – depending on the year.

Public_Service_forthe_Ignorati

Yes, this is true.

Public_Service_forthe_Ignorati

Not as much as OPS+ does.

Foothills Ryan

happens to the best of us. what brand coffee you drinkin’?

South City Jim

I noted at this time last year that the Nats had made a terrible decision in not signing Morse. That said, he has more power than I thought. His power will translate anywhere.

well maybe a walk is more valuable than a single as most likely the pitcher has been taxed additional pitches and carries some frustration into the next ab. might also carry some eagerness to get back into the heart of the k zone.

his swing is awesome. no wonder the ball goes so far. really translates a lot of energy from his huge frame to the point of contact. love the oppo power.

2holehitting

Fine I will stop pointing out the ironies on our slick fielding first baseman that was 15th in the majors last year in fielding percentage. Can I compare him to his peers? He is currently tied for the league lead in errors committed by a first baseman and tied for the worst in fielding percentage in the NL.

Sound and worse than comparing him to a boot the ball second baseman? Sure does to me.

ClutchUp

Good post Jim. Regarding. Wrc or wRC, even the eye test only guys concur BUT it is a long season, so hole onto our stirrups during our 70 losses, give or take.
Happy Saturday
Sunshine and Wind above!

South City Jim

He’s like a bigger, stronger version of Jack Clark but Clark had a different swing type, more of a pull hitter.

Public_Service_forthe_Ignorati

Perhaps. Many years ago I looked at runs by pitch count, I don’t think there was any correlation – although, obviously you’d expect one if pitchers were allowed/forced to finish their own games. Bullpen guys need work, too.

ClutchUp

Kona will help!

Foothills Ryan

i heard that comparison by Larry Kreuger, I believe. Sounds good.

Foothills Ryan

i think we just have to look up the coefficients in the wOBA calculation.

South City Jim

Bob Horner, the old 3rd baseman for the Braves is on record as saying Clark was the scariest AB for him at the hot corner, and that’s saying something when you played during the same era as Schmidt and Luzinski.

winebaroness27

Love the fact that he’s not a dead pull hitter…understands about staying short and using the center of the field…Help stay out of prolonged slumps
Wow he crushed that ball to RF..and then to center too…Wheee…!!

I agree! Pagan is the spark plug both with his play and his presence. I think Led Zeppelin made an album about him!

ClutchUp

No Alex today, or Al as Marty calls Pavs.

We must have Steve ‘Cork’, Stewey or outside chance at Downtown Dan Brown.

Public_Service_forthe_Ignorati

Reassess them? Not the weights probably, but maybe the definition of an “event”. As a pitcher, you know there are a multitude of unrecorded events occurring between pitches.

Michael Scott

Hicks is a better defender than Belt:
2Hole-Yes
Rest of the civilized world: No

South City Jim

Recently someone was saying that Tom Seaver rarely watches baseball anymore but he pours over box scores every morning. Maybe it was Kruk, not sure. He also said that Seaver says you need movement, location and velocity to get big league hitters out and velocity is the least important of the three. After seeing the likes of Hudson and Uehara, i agree with that!

http://directionalforces.net George Magalios

Three guesses! It’s called The Stroke and it’s main lines are: “stroke me, stroke me..” He is awesome, a great guitarist.

dgg

I’m really hoping for Carl most of all.

Bapah

I don’t think that’s the issue.

dgg

I believe it was cc last year who posted this interview (December 2013) with Tom Seaver.

The boys just needed to get home, our fans are such a spark plug for these guys its incredible. You can just tell that they immediately loosen up because the fans are there to have a good time, I think that translates to less pressure and better ball. Lets start an early run away in the west this home stand!

dgg

“The boys just needed to get home”

Gee, I thought they did pretty well in that wild 12-10 game vs. Rockies in Colorado.

Michael Scott

Sometimes the dinosaur stats don’t vary much from the advanced ones. OPS rankings are almost the same as wRC+
OPS, Starters only:
1.Morse
2.Belt
3.Hicks
4.Pagan
5.Pence
6.Crawford
7.Posey
8.Sandoval
The ranking only differs with Pence and Crawford and they’re real close.

Michael Scott

Who’s the Big A ?

Matthew

Baseball being a conglomeration of random plays leads to early season statistical oddities. For you, in April, to say he is tied for the league lead in errors is insignificant.

But, it fits neatly into your ongoing narrative.

Do this: come back in August, and discuss how his fielding looks in comparison to the league.

dgg

Sadly, no. The last time I checked there had been no posts anywhere for almost two days.

Public_Service_forthe_Ignorati

Sure. OPS+ is my go-to stat – good enough for most purposes, and I prefer baseball-ref’s layout over fangraphs’. But wRC+ is more precise – and you guys are sticklers for precision.

Matthew

…and a different attitude. Morse sure seems to be a glue guy. The pull swing , when Morse breaks it out, does look a lot like Jack, huh?

#FreeSam

108 comments on this thread and not a single lame youtube video link. Thanks Alex for banning CC.

NoShame09

Yeah and how did they look in the 7 games previous when they scored no more than two runs a game bozo? Or how about the night before that when Bum threw a complete game and only gave up 2 in COLORADO and still lost? While I appreciate your effort to put a negative spin on a positive post and try to make me look stupid, I’d appreciate it if you’d just exercise your right to remain silent. It will make you sound smarter and like less of an A-hole.

Michael Scott

I used BR. I’d guess that OPS+ is about the same as well. I used OPS on purpose because I guessed that it would not be far off from wRC+as to rating the hitters.
It wasn’t to discredit your numbers, BTW. I refer to wRC+, wOBA, OPS+ and many more.
OPS+ ranking:
Morse
Belt
Hicks
Pagan
Crawford
Pence
Posey
Sandoval
OPS+ ranking is the same as wRC+

#FreeSam

lol @ bozo.

Be careful, there’s lots of dudes here who like to protect dgg’s honor. Bapah and/or Matthew will be looking for you soon.

Matthew

Cue up some links , Team GE!

#FreeSam

Read below, dgg needs your bodyguard assistance.

Matthew

#WhistleblowerSam

stickman

Rack this one up for Sabean. The pair of major stars of the game, Mightymorse and the Hudson Terraplane are looking more and more like relative steals and bargains as we segue into the latter days of opening month. Also we cannot overlook the contribution of Pagan, yet another Sabean pickup who came pretty cheap relative to his level of contributions.

By these metrics we could comfortably say that Sabean has the early lead for Exec of the Year considerations. Ownership does not grant him nearly the level of financial backing that his former assistant enjoys down in LaLaLand, but the Giants GM has an uncanny knack for making the most of his opportunities.

Barring the acquisitions of Morse and Hudson SF might be a game or two ahead of the Snakes. However, they currently pace the NLW. Kudos, Brian.

#FreeSam

I forgot you retired from that line of work. Don’t worry, Surfcity just got hired on as Lt. Bapah’s newest deputy.

Matthew

Chivalry, thy name is NoShame

Matthew

Thanks…I have trouble changing my stripes, though.

DrLefty

They actually traded him to Seattle. They had re-signed LaRoche to a new two-year deal and had Harper, Werth, and Span for the OF. No place to play Morse.

Morse was a huge fan favorite and a great clubhouse guys, and the Nats’ fans were beside themselves last year that he was traded. They would rather have let LaRoche walk and kept Morse.

dgg

You had a point: that they needed to get home to turn things around. I had a counterpoint: that the Giants had turned things around before they got home.

I didn’t call you names. You called me two names: “bozo and A-hole.” Point/counterpoint is a part of rational discourse. Name-calling is not.

Yeah, I took it as a desire to add info. No worries. Both OPS+ and wRC+ are park/league adjusted. OPS should be fine for this list.

Foothills Ryan

that’s not how you do the The Stroke.

DrLefty

I really did, after a deeply scientific study of the pitching matchups in the two games. Especially the part where Hudson’s been a stud and that poor kid from Cleveland has now lost 17 straight starts dating back to 2011. With Beckett going for the Dodgers, I figured there was a good chance the Rox would win. However, to give credit where it’s due, Beckett pitched great–he was foiled by lack of run support and his weak bullpen.

stickman

Interesting flipside is that Giants pitchers lead the league in fewest bases on balls given up. Yep, those bases on balls will kill you and it looks like the team that gives up the fewest and garners the most of those free passes currently leads the Division.
These developments are such a very pleasant switcheroo from recent seasons. They might factor as another form of smallball. Add a newfound propensity for longball and voila!

Doughnut

His power zone is to right center. We will see how that plays out over the year. But he is in the toughest ball park in the league to hit out at right center and he is still doing a great job. He has as much power as anybody and is going to hit some mammoth shots on the road this year like the one in Colorado.

Doughnut

I think he fits really well into our clubhouse, like almost perfect. He keeps thing loose which is something Bochy wants. I heard Bochy had a pretty significant part in bringing him over here and he turned down some better deals to come here.

stickman

Creedence holds the trophy with “Pagan Baby”. Close San Francisco connexion there too.

Bapah

He has trouble spelling.

totalfan62

We do play better at AT&T. Team is built for the park, 150+ consecutive sellouts, it’s all good.

Michael Scott

He’s still not going to hit many out to RF at ATT. All in all he’ll probably hit nearly twice many HRs on the road vs. here. But hey, they all count.

Doughnut

He deserves credit for those two signings especially Hudson. That was a major risk in my eyes but it has turned out golden so far and Morse is exactly what this team needed. But he has made some mistakes too. Gave Timmy too much money. I was hoping he could give him the right amount so that if necessary they could always spin his role as a super reliever guy. At 18mil a year IDK if they can do that. Hopefully it won’t come to that, starting tonight.
Also, we have ZERO bench. Not a professional AB to be found. If there is an injury, depending who it is, it could be devastating. Also, declining Vogey;s option and then bringing him back over some of the other options is looking iffy but not end of the world considering the price.

South City Jim

Sabean’s 2014 may ultimately be decided on how well Lincecum and Vogey do.

Especially since one yr olds know there is a “hide media” drop down menu?! How come there is a “link” to upload if they did not want ….

#FreeSam

Thanks DanPetaluma

Bapah

Unless it’s a ® thing.

Michael Scott

I was looking up sexy last names for the Biscuits post last night. I’m ruling out Quackenbush..

South City Jim

Yeah, I was high on Medica but the curve ball looked absolutely foreign to him last week. Too bad about Johnson. Plus Pads may have committed to too many years in Venable and Gyorko without seeing a larger sample.

Doughnut

I hope he doesn’t have too much pride not to change things if it appears change is needed. This team has a shot.

NoShame09

Well the freaking guy tried to make ME look like one! I must defend thy honor! I was trying to put out an upbeat post and DGGGGG comes along and takes a crap in my Cheerios. Sorry if I was trying to say that we all are the best fans in baseball, but if anyone thinks that was anything above a completely sub mediocre road trip, then they be trippin’. I didn’t disrespect until I was disrespected bro! “I respect you bro!”

Hopefully I can make Friday night game. It’s “wear your Braves jersey” night, so I’ll try to be there wearing 2010/2012 WORLD SERIES CHAMPIONS gear. Time to let the good folks of the ATL what’s really up!

Bapah

How about Two Egg, Fla. or Hot Coffee, Miss.

South City Jim

Agree.

totalfan62

They’re playing very good baseball right now. It will be a good test.

Bapah

Or, Burnt Corn, Ala.? I went to school near Gnaw Bone, Ind.

Doughnut

I expect Huddy is going to get a loud applause, seems like the kind of guy that all fans appreciate. He is 203 and 100 lifetime or something. That is a pretty amazing record. Is he scheduled to pitch. Don’t think he would be.

Michael Scott

Love Carl.

Matthew

He’s turning into The Most Interesting GM In The World. Tres Copas is the goal.

I doubt he will be too stubborn at all…in fact, he will be quick to take corrective measures

Question, Cubs breath: would you take Belt for Rizzo, straight up one-for-one? Most NL GMs would quickly say yes. Your constant carping about one of the best young players on our team is tired and old.

Matthew

Well, it was a rather unsophisticated attempt

Bapah

No problem, you took care of that yourself. Check your shoes.

Matthew

Nice! Go #54 and carry a sign saying “that’s What’s Up”

South City Jim

Baseball’s a crazy game and it’s still way too early. Who would figure that Harang would be among the most dominant RHP in the National League and that Arroyo would be a gas can with rocket fuel inside. Over time both will probably move towards the mean.

totalfan62

Looks like it will be Timmy-Vogey-Bum. Many Braves fans have told me how upset they are that Huddy got away.

Doughnut

That is a pretty good description lol. Makes some head scratchers and also some brilliant moves and brushes them all off. He is definitely the most interesting GM in the world. They don’t make them like Sabean anymore.

dgg

With Carl, there’s very interesting analysis and there’s always music…

ClutchUp

Jim: Seaver has gotten worse. His friends just got together in groups and took photos and sent to Tom

Foothills Ryan

my old dog is ‘Mingus’ !

Doughnut

Things seemed to work out for them. I don’t know why but i am really looking forward to that series. I have a good feeling about it.

dgg

Really?! Wow.

South City Jim

Gotten worse in which way? Like Steve Carlton worse?

ClutchUp

Really?

Foothills Ryan

Picked him up at the LA shelter over a dozen years ago. Ol’ boy still going strong. Pointer/lab/pit/??? mix.

2holehitting

Hit a nerve or something? You guys have no issues trashing Blanco for hitting, Sandoval for Fielding and hitting and Hicks et all for their fielding and hitting. But when you stack your beloved Belt or Posey up with their statistics that show a negative light, bam trash carp harp idiot cub fan etc, Facts are hard to dispute unlike your belovedness for one player over another.

And yes, for paid pumpers by the Giants like you, Belt was a 15th or the lower part of middle of the road first baseman the past 2 years. So how is pointing out a 1 month period that shows he is worse now than he has been poor? One could say the same for his home run surge and hitting that you want to tought as gareat.

You pointed to his home run power at the end of the last year. I pointed to a 2 week stretch then 1 or 2 homers in the final 5 weeks. How many has he hit at home? 1? Warning track power at home?

NoShame09

“Well I didn’t know all of that, so I’m sorry!” Put it all aside. I’m not part of the everyday clique that you have going on. But I really don’t care to argue or defend anymore. I was merely trying to say that our home field advantage is exactly that, then this dgggg takes an excerpt from my post and tries to spin it into me being a hater. This has gone beyond ridiculous. She freaking made the response to me.

I’ll put it in more simple and gentle terms for you: I like how the giants play at home and I think the fan support has a little to do with it.

Is that okay? Or am I going to lambasted

Michael Scott

And he looks like he’s a little cranky. Cranky is good.

#FreeSam

I wasn’t attacking you. Just letting you know. I clowned dgg a couple weeks ago and they were after me like wolves. I gave you props on the bozo blast though. That was funny.

NoShame09

THANK YOU! God, this got out of control quicker than greased owl
s***. If you read my post I was trying to be happy go lucky! Wtf?

dgg

That’s what I really liked about your friendly-curmudgeon avatar with the crossed arms!

NoShame09

Unsophisticated? Were talking about baseball, not cricket. You sound like a pretentious (pick your adjective) who is in love with this person but will never be able to get them. Don’t respond back because anything you say will be simply idiotic, and yes I did mean to redundant maid Maryanne. Is that reference sophisticated enough for you DB?

ClutchUp

I used $ for a$$ignment
Disqus still doesn’t care for the former ATL manager. Mr. Bobby.

ClutchUp

24th game of the yr…

South City Jim

I wouldn’t even bring this up if it were any other team but since it’s the Pads I will, they’re being perfecto’d through five.

NoShame09

And check your shoes for size “XC” that’s extra clown, you flippin’ wannabe. You couldn’t even get into clown school because you’re too busy juggling your own emotions regarding a person you can’t get. Try Eharmony.

Michael Scott

I love Pablo, you love Pablo. But I don’t find meaningless numbers to assert that he’s having a good year. Your cred is shot.

South City Jim

jinx

Foothills Ryan

He already had the name ‘Mingus’ when I saved him.

Doughnut

Is Bud Black on the hot seat if this year goes bad? I don’t understand why Grandal and Alonso don’t play everyday

Michael Scott

They are both having great years so far.

Foothills Ryan

Giants Extra is always a little feisty. It’s a spirited dugout.

Matthew

If he is, it’s too bad…he gets more out of less than almost any manager

South City Jim

Black’s a bit like Bochy. Great understanding of pitching and working the bullpen but I think he out thinks himself sometimes with the LUs. Why does he platoon Denorfia?

Matthew

..and this is where I miss our friend CC…he would begin a thread well above my Wonderlic score on The Origins of Order and whatnot….

DrLefty

Mark Appel definitely isn’t. He was doing so poorly in A ball that they just demoted him to extended spring training.

dgg

I think it’s great that you kept his name. Rescuing a dog is a wonderful thing to do.

ClutchUp

Bud is safe!

Doughnut

I always see him grabbing the lineup card like its going to change if he keeps staring at it hard enough. He hasn’t had enough talent to at San Diego. I think him and the Padres need to part ways and then I think he will kill it at his next job. Sometimes you need to fail once or twice and it makes you better. He is very logical but it seems like he is over thinking things like you said.

South City Jim

No doubt about that. I get platooning Grandal because Hundley’s pretty good. Alonso’s another story.

ClutchUp

He’ll be B A C K ….

Matthew

I’ve been rebranded from “Bodyguard” to ” pretentious (pick your adjective)” which, I must admit, was a strong retort from NoShame9.

There are times we (I) go Nat Geo Gorilla Society, huh? As long as we all enjoy it, it’s all good!

Bapah

You’re pretty good at insults. Put the same effort into studying the game and controlling your emotions and you might be on to a winning combination. That you befriended sam, tells us more than you can imagine. Tell me, does your mouth ever get you into trouble? Sam is more clever with his witticisms and insults, you two should hook up. Better have a proxy account lined up though.

Matthew

Yup! Quite strong. No worries. In reading back I don’t think you meant that as I thought. Mine did sound pretentious, huh? Let’s all move on

Bapah

Actually it would be a noun, not an adjective. So, it’s ignorance that causes this. Now I get it.

I think the Pads tried to do the right thing by signing Johnson by bringing in someone that had won something. Unfortunately, that doesn’t work when the player’s on the DL and probably not with the team much.

Michael Scott

I hope Mitch’s ERA doesn’t reach double figures after today.

Bapah

Ditto. They were listed for a “scheduled” game a few days back, but it never materialized. Same for the posting on the schedule.

Moooooooooose

ZERO bench? Krukow would disagree with Sanchez and Arias and Blanco being called zeros. Especially Sanchez!

Public_Service_forthe_Ignorati

Got to get Posey out of the four-hole…..he’s killing the team……or some other complaint.

Doughnut

My point is the bench is not good. I can’t think of a worse bench in the major leagues. Can you?

DrLefty

#FreeHector

Doughnut

True. The injury bug has got them pretty good. Not a bad club overall actually if healthy.

Bapah

Because you overreacted. Let it go and it will settle down.

South City Jim

Good pitching. On paper their offense looks okay but numbers say otherwise.

totalfan62

Enjoying an absolutely beautiful spring day here in the ATL, jonesing some Giants baseball viewing. Pulled up recording of Giants/Dodgers game at AT&T, May 4 last year. You probably remember it–middle game of a 3-game sweep, we win on a 10th inning walk-off from Guillermo Quiroz. Giants out to an early lead, Bums score SEVEN on the fifth (off Vogey), back & forth all the way to the W. Love my team–love baseball.

Moooooooooose

Well, since I have no idea who is on anybody’s bench, I guess not. But I’d bet the Astros bench is worse and a lot of teams have worse benches. Just because we see these guys all the time doesn’t mean they are the worst. If you listen to most of the crowd here, the starting pitching is bad, the offense is bad, the relievers are bad (Well, they are good right now, but one or two outings could change all that), the defense is bad, the coaching is bad. Yet the second place team has three Cy Young candidates, 4 all star outfielders, a third baseman we should have signed, the league leader in steals, and a ton of blue chip prospects getting blocked by all that talent!

Bapah

I’ve watching him a little at Fresno. Seems to me that he is trying to repeat that performance. I do like him, but I prefer watching Susac behind the plate.

ClutchUp

Bravo! Great reading a FAN from the heart memory. No stats needed when its embedded in ones heart.

South City Jim

Dodger’s bench is probably worse with Ellis out. They’re back up catcher (Revera?) is about the worst ML hitter i’ve seen in some time. And Chone Figgins? I’ll take our bench over theirs.

Doughnut

I will give you the Astros. Forgot about them. But off the top of my head this is the worst bench I have seen this year. I watch most of the league and am pretty aware of what a normal bench looks like. For instance if we cut some of the guys on our bench they would probably clear waivers or stash guys in the minors. I am pretty upbeat about this team, more then most. I am just calling it like I see it in this situation. Isn’t that the point of the blog.

ClutchUp

Imo Bud is checking the opposing LU card. He has both in his back pocket.

“If I do ‘this’, what might ‘they’ do” sort of thing.

Doughnut

They have Van Slyke, Ethier/Kemp, Turner. I would trade theirs for ours pretty quick. They also have guys down in the minors who would be on our bench. Butera and Fedx are there catchers after the injury.

Bapah

Chone was in a minor league game last night.

South City Jim

Okay, I’ll give you Van Slyke. I’m not sold on Turner and Ethier is problematic off the bench because he has none chance against lefties.

Nate’sFanMom

Okay, all of you who argued with me during the off-season about how Blanco was better because he “saved” runs, what’d you think of my boy Morse now?

Extend the beast.

South City Jim

Didn’t realize he was demoted. Thanks.

Doughnut

Yeah, that is definitely what he is doing. That is what I was trying to say.

South City Jim

Here’s where I don’t get Bud. Take Timmy’s no-no last year. Guzman has something like a career .400+ average with a few dingers off of Timmy and he wasn’t in the LU. On top of that, the game ended without Denorfia even getting a PH opportunity. Those things can’t happen. He’s good but he does unorthodox things that rarely work.

Those two are freaking clowns, Internet dorks trying to win over someone they don’t even know. Chick doesn’t even know the game, probably has never been to one, and Matthew and bapapapahahahaha need to find a some rocks and go kick them.

2holehitting

Pablo having a good year? says who? Certainly not me. In fact were you not the one who suggested he would win a gold glove?

Doughnut

Both Cuban and went to Miami I think. Yasmani and Yonder. Both are going to be good also if they get to play regularly. I hear the Padres are shopping Hundley

ClutchUp

New Post by Steve Corkran.

Enjoy your Sat and Sunday off Alex. Well earned and well deserved days off. Ignore the peanut gallery IQ.

DanPetaluma

Sounds good to me but he does have a medical history and we are around game 25. Why now?

NoShame09

You’re a freaking weirdo dude. All I try to do is talk baseball and you come out of nowhere to “protect” someone who insulted me, whom
presumably you don’t even know and try to drop some knowledge on me. You’re an extremely annoying person (on this thread) I’m sure you’re a good person as am I, but I don’t understand the immediate animosity towards me. We can bury the hatchet or continue on like children, I figure you’re in the range of a 22-25 year old who has recently moved to the city. And that’s cool, but do a couple of important things for your country before you start giving lessons. I am finished talking to you sir/ma’am whatever you are. I apologize if I hurt your feelings by responding to your “special lady friend” but buy a thicker coat of skin.

NoShame09

You’re darn right no worries! Jeez! I digress, were all family here. I just don’t want to be capped on by someone for making a positive comment. I mean, come on, what’s that? And Dgggggggg has been conviently absent from this entire ridiculous scrub after making her rather “brainless, prevoking, idiotic, and ill-interpreting” comment.

You guys have her back, and I respect that, but take the time to sort out the info before you try to web slam a brotha. SHE was in the wrong, not I said the “pig”.

NoShame09

In grammar, an adjective is a ‘describing’ word; the main syntactic role of which is to qualify a noun or noun phrase, giving more information about the object signified.[1]

Read a book.

NoShame09

Never had an encounter with the idiot before, but I believe you. Just a freaking dork, that has nothing better to do than to pretend to know the game, read articles and then regurgitate them.

Buzz off loser bapah, let me guess, your title is your last name spelled backwards or some dumb s***?

NoShame09

Idiot.

Bapah

You idiotic moron, you supplied the adjective without an object/ or noun. I see that you couldn’t respond without referring to your 7th grade English text. Put the noun where it belongs and then I’ll provide a fitting adjective. Until then shove it! It’s too bad you aren’t half as clever as you think.

BALDHEADSLIK1

Yep

NoShame09

Dude, go away. Find a life. I have zero desire to talk to you or argue with you. I don’t even know why I am, you tried to swing in on a chandelier and “rescue” some person that you don’t even know, whom I had no intention of talking to. I made a post, not a reply. I tried to smooth it over, but you weren’t having it. I tried to make lite of it but you refused to have a sense of humor. Again do not respond to me please, I’m tired of looking at my email and seeing you there. I did not mean to offend or be negative in anyway, this has been going on for nearly 9 hours now. Enough.